Just good old ragi ball feeding mate, that's what has done the trick.
But i will tell you one thing, these fish are strong and real fighters MM.
Catch them on light gear (upto 25 lb line) and they fight like hell. You will wonder if you have a mahseer hooked. And they don't give in easily either.
Regards
Owen

Ragi and Hing is what i used. I tried atta laced with vanilla, strawberry, also tried indian corn, bread flakes, kabuli channa, but no go this time.
Since we had only a little over a day to fish, i decided to use what they feed the fish on regularly, and it worked like a dream.

On my last trip, i had a great run on float tackle using atta laced with vanilla, over a pile of oil cake mixed with clay, that we dumped from a coracle. Certainly had some big fish in the area for 2 days.
Did the same this time, in a quiet corner, and had huge fish move in again, but could not get them to accept any other bait other than ragi.

Ragi and Hing is what i used. I tried atta laced with vanilla, strawberry, also tried indian corn, bread flakes, kabuli channa, but no go this time.Since we had only a little over a day to fish, i decided to use what they feed the fish on regularly, and it worked like a dream.

So, its a localised practice to feed the fish. A matter of giving them what they are used to.
I find ragi is used more in the south, here around Pune, its wheat flour. I did try ragi a few times but ......... nothing!
Maybe its the hing that does the trick! I had tried many additives but never got such super results, as the fabled Bengali guy's I have heard about but not seen personally.
Tried the masala and chutney that comes from Cal. but I can not say it worked wonders, people were hitting fish all over! So it was difficult to rate it, beyond reasonable doubt. I expect to get some more soon, will try it, preferably when no one is getting bites. It should prove its worth then!

Hi Sanjay,
The way i see it, is to introduce a bait to the fish (whatever the bait), and keep them on a constant diet of the same. They must know that it is a safe bait to eat, before angling actually starts. This may take weeks or months. Don't expect good results even while using the most tried and tested baits, at a place where this bait has not been used before.

The problem starts when a lot of fish start getting caught on the new bait. They become wary, and even though they want it, they will keep testing it with their tail etc to see if it is safe. The more pressured the water gets, the more wary the fish become.

This has happenend in most European waters where the same fish are caught time and again, so much so they have even given them names.

There are videos made showing how a fish in pressured waters test bait.

I can see the same thing happening on Ragi and hing in the confined space of the small Wasi lake in the near future, and then it will be time to introduce other baits, and or change the way the bait is presented to them.

HI Owen,
Thats a nice fish!
Thanks for sharing tips on bait.The last time I packed a small plastic box of hing, it came apart in the air travel and was scattered liberally across my overnighter, clothes were reeking for a a week. Devil's dung allright I should have done my famous flop in the water and scooped up the fish Do you use commercial vanilla essence or soak the vanilla pods overnite and use that stuff?
All I've used so far is atta-plain, with hing, with thai shrimp paste, ( blacang as they call it in bahasa malaysia-I learnt the taste from a Malay friend in med school and use it liberally in my cooking) with turmeric -No go, until I got a 6 incher catfish with- an earthworm.Looks like I should introduce ragi to the fish up north Good luck and keep on doin it
Axx

You should smell my tackle room. Strictly out of bounds for the house hold. My brother is even worse. Hing smells like lavender in comparison to what he has stashed in his back yard.

Back to bait, and here's my four annas for what its worth to beginners.

Use atta with a drop of vanilla essence (commercial stuff will do), strawberry essence is also a great attractor, but use them both sparingly.
Atta mixed with a little haldi powder gives the bait a nice attractive colour.
Even bread flakes pressed onto the hook work well.
Earthworms will always be a good bait to have around, since they are totally natural, and the fish see this every day.
Soaked and boiled Kabuli channa and indian corn will also work well as hook bait for carp.

If you have enough time, or are fishing for even a day, pick a likely spot on a lake (the locals will have a fair idea as to where fish are frequently caught from), or look for fish activity, and ground bait the area at regular intervals, heavily at first, and while you are fishing if the bites dry up, throw in a handful or so every hour.

It is not a good idea to move places too often, better to just ground bait 1 or 2 good spots.
Ground bait selection should be based on the water being fished. In lakes or quiet pools in rivers or streams, i like to use groundnut oil cake though i am pretty sure sunflower seed oil cake should work as well. A couple of kgs of it soaked in a little water so as to make a thick paste, and then mixed with clay in a 1:1 ratio and even things like indian corn kernels or cooked bengal gram, cooked kabuli channa, even smelly stuff like hing can be added in small quantities and left to dry for a little while before gently dropping it into the water. All this can be done on the bank, with the help of a small bucket.

You should soon have some fish activity in the area. Probably the small fish at first, and then the activity will bring in the biggies.
If you see the small ones go helter- skelter, it's probably a sign of bigger things to come.

The fish will not get turned on to ragi or atta (or any of the hook baits i have mentioned above) overnight, they need to be introduced to the bait gradually, and know that it is safe to eat it. Over a period of time the addiction sets in, and nothing else works as well as what they have been introduced to.

A good alternate to ground baiting or in addition to ground baiting is to use an open end swim feeder (have to post some pix of one for you to understand if you have not seen one). The swim feeder is a transparent piece of pvc pipe about an inch in dia, and 1 and a half inch long, with holes drilled into its sides. A piece of lead is clipped on to one side of the plastic. The amount of lead, depends on how far you want to cast out (30 to 50 gm lead piece should be sufficient). The swim feeder is attached to the main line with a thin length of line maybe a foot in length and tied about a foot and a half above the hook to the main line. (Very little lead will be required for the hook). Pack the swim feeder full of the oilcake ground bait and gently cast out (no float required). The bait in the swim feeder should be of the right consistency, so that a slight shake of the rod tip will loosen up the bait in the feeder, and within 15 to 20 min it should have come out of the feeder. Over a period of time the build up of ground bait in the area will bring in enough fish activity. You hook bait should be similar to what is being used in the ground bait (indian corn, kabuli channa, even bread, worms etc).

Thanks Owen for taking time off for such a detailed reply...The feeder canister seemd simple enough, no sweat.A 35mm film canister with holes drilled in the side and a metallic loop epoxied on the non cap end to attach to main line? I can make one after I finish typing this out!!
Problem is, most times, I am on a quick foray and am looking for 'targets of opportunity'!! not enough time to ground bait...However, will definitely refine my technique and try to find some decent locales for a regular run.
Now I have vanilla essence added to my tackle besides the hing and blacang All I gotta do is go looking for the sunflower or groundnut pressings-any one know what they are called in the local parlance, here in UP/Delhi?
Inder, are you on?
Thanks and tight lines to you, always
Best
Axx

Hi eljefe,
Oil cake should not be too difficult to find. It is regular cattle feed, so check with a milkman Your idea on an iprovised open end feeder is good, remember that both ends of the can need to be open. Use a transparent can if possible, so that it does not look too obtrusive in the drink. Regards
Owen

hey guys, one important tip regarding the oil-cake... Fry the bloody thing before using it. This will release the gas from it which maybe harmful and to put it lightly, will screw up your swim in the long run..

If you want to know how bad it is.. Take a little oil-cake and put it in some warm water and seal the container.. After a few days, open the container and I assure you the smell would make you want to make love to a skunk..

So my advice to all u guys using oil-cake- PLEASE COOK IT SLIGHTLY BEFORE USING !!! 10-15 minutes should do fine...

The things you eat Gav ... make a billy goat puke ... fry the fluffing oilcake to feed the fish ... in what Virgin Olive oil ... first it was the rum ... now .... owen when are you taking this half bong fishing ... make sure hes nowhere near the cooking fire

Ha OB,
I went and drilled holes in the film canister walls and epoxied a pin 'grommet'.will leave only one end open-i.e no cap, and experiment around...am sure will be fun! Tnx again Now for Gav's oil and the cow feed...

Ha OB,I went and drilled holes in the film canister walls and epoxied a pin 'grommet'.will leave only one end open-i.e no cap, and experiment around...am sure will be fun! Tnx again

Unlikely to get the bait to come out with only 1 end open.
I think you are probably thinking that with both ends open, the bait will fall out during casting, but the right consistency of the mix should be the key. Not too thick either, or it will never come out. Practice makes perfect Have you added a peice of lead clipped on lenght wise to the cannister?
The lead peice (around 30gms), will only stay on if clipped onto the cannister at both ends. If you can get it picked up from me, you can have a sample feeder.

OB-You read my mind-some thing to potter around-so the next canister gets the other end cut off and a lead weight added.
I went and bought myself a cool looking ladle -saw wife using it for 'Tadka' and a small cylinder, single hob gas stove, to melt wheel weights and patent the gavin 'oil cake fry 'have also applied to the pollution control board Will do all this outdoors, obviously!
Will get the lead melted first and then try the 'gavin fry'
Problem with melting lead is one needs proper eye protection and if possible a decent filter mask-I have a couple of N-95's to spare from the SARS and chicken flu scares , so will deck up accordingly and give it a whirl.
Kanwar, thanks for the translation-hope I dont get whacked! It is the right word ,right?Khal , while KHAAL should be (thick) skin Best
Axx

Hi Guy's,
Dont go in for melting lead etc. Buy a sheet of lead of about 1 to 2 mm thick (available at scrap metal shops). Cut 1cm wide strips and bend them over the cannister length wise (here you need both ends of the cannister to be open), to have an edge to clip the lead strip onto. If you need more weight, clip on another piece over the original lead strip.

We usually keep kilo's of lead sheets at home from which we make our spiral leads for mahseer and rohu fishing.

I like making a neat and tidy presentation, it gives you more confidence, and therefore your bait spends more time in the water rather than wasting time fiddling with changes of tackle and methods on the bank.
One successful catch, and you have confidence in the method you are adopting.

I should get some pix posted for the spiral leads i prepare for different water conditions, baits being used, and line BS.
Regards
Owen

I dont know how much OT i am, but I cant trace a single scrap wallah here. So did the next best thing, hit the nearest battery rebuilder and got my self some lead plates.Now to discover the lost art of pouring lead sheets...Yeah, I saw some beautifully formed spiral lead weights with Pratap and Rustam, even got a few back, but until I find the scrap wallah, may have to cast my own.
Best
Axx

I dont know how much OT i am, but I cant trace a single scrap wallah here. So did the next best thing, hit the nearest battery rebuilder and got my self some lead plates.Now to discover the lost art of pouring lead sheets...Yeah, I saw some beautifully formed spiral lead weights with Pratap and Rustam, even got a few back, but until I find the scrap wallah, may have to cast my own.BestAxx

Prathap and I used to make our own lead sinkers. Most of it was from lead sheet that's sold on SP road and can be bought by the kilo. SP road is Parallel to the road that has the Mysore Road flyover. Ask anyone on the street and they'll guide you.... it's about 3/4 of the way down the street.... small hole in the wall joint sells the stuff.
It's practically impossible to pour lead sheets at home and not at the risk of poisoning ones self. Just not worth it. I've got some egg sinker and hexagonal sinker moulds lying around at a friends farm... that reminds me... I must try and get them back.

Thanks for the alternate hole in the wall info MM as the one in Shivajinagar seems to have dried up its lead sheet resources.

I see some anglers using the spirals wound directly on the main line,
a better way to do it (which you probably follow) is by winding the lead on a silicon tubing (the size of a ballpen refill) and then threadling a rubber shock bead on the line, before threadling the spiral onto the line. Then add one more shock bead at the hook end.
The beads are held in place with the help of power gum (thick rubber bands tied on the main line works as good as power gum).
This type of setup helps keep the main line from fraying in snag situations, as the spiral slides down towards the hook, when we attempt to remove the snag Regards
Owen

Owen,
No worries.... The kind lead I currently use and which I've almost run out of is lead wire. It's lead sheet that's thrown into one end of a machine called an 'extruder' and lead wire is pulled out of the other end. The same kind of machine that makes copper wire.

The cross section of the lead wire is circular and its very smooth so no chances of niks on your line. I then use a rubber pipe (cycle valve rubber) onto which the lead is wound.... actually its the other way.... With the rubber you can tighten the coils around the line with no chance of damaging it to see it stays in position. This does away with glues, beads, knots etc....

Guys,
Have been out of bangalore 9 years now, but I can still find my way to the shivajinagar Guj, or the SP road hole in the wall...
The extruded wire is obviously ideal, no rough edges- solder wire usually has a resin core and is not solid.Looks like I'll have to go exploring the sunday bazaars and local guj in Delhi.Yeah, I'll settle for lead sheets-if some one tosses em my way!
Thats a good idea to use a ball point refill as a 'former'
OB, If I cant trace a neighbourhood milkman for oil cake, am going to introduce the local fishies to mince or chicken gizzard or some such offal using the film canister bait feeder!

Guys,OB, If I cant trace a neighbourhood milkman for oil cake, am going to introduce the local fishies to mince or chicken gizzard or some such offal using the film canister bait feeder!

Dude that will bring in the siluroids for sure, but not sure if you will attract the Rohu. Be sure of one thing, oil cake is available throughout India. Ask for an oil press, they should be processing sunflower seeds, mustard seels and groundnut. Forget the mustard, go for the former and latter.
I buy 10 kgs at a time for 15 bucks a kg.
Always good to know you have some stashed away

OB,
way I am looking at it is I need to attract some damn "oids' siluroids or otherwise! After months of carpal tunnel syndrome because of typing too much, I love the feel of a neat cast(yeah, manage those too, between birds nests) and want to get me a decent "roid" "droid" or whatever, before I get tennis/Golfers Elbow! Tomorrow morning, I ambush the first doodhwalla I see on his shiny non Rajdoot

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